Child Justice Officer (UNICEF Vietnam)

Job Description

Host entity: UNICEF Vietnam

Duration: 12 months (with possibility of extension)

Sustainable Development Goal: 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

Volunteer category: National UN Volunteer Specialist

Duty stations: Hanoi

Expected start date: 12/01/2023

Type: Onsite

Number of assignments: 1

Application Deadline: 08/12/2023

Eligibility criteria

Age: 27-80

Nationality: Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.

Mission and objectives

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) was founded by the United Nations in 1946. The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated.

Context

This UNV assignment is part of the Justice and Legal Empowerment in Viet Nam Programme, funded by the European Union (EU JULE) and the Strengthening Justice for Minors Project, 2022-2026 (Child Justice Project). Like many countries in the world, the justice system in Viet Nam was designed mainly for adults and is not equipped to meet the unique needs of children. As such, thousands of Vietnamese children face major obstacles in accessing justice — including approximately 13,000 juvenile alleged offenders and over 2,400 child victims of violence, as well as approximately 69,000 children involved in family law cases every year. 1 In the past 15 years, Viet Nam has been undertaking comprehensive legal and judicial reforms, with UNICEF supporting a better access to justice for children, adolescents, and women. Alongside many critical elements of a friendly justice system, such as the creation of specialized children's courts in 60 per cent of provinces across the country; limiting administrative detention of juveniles; introduction of child-and gender sensitive procedures and limiting the pre-trial detention of children, significant progress was achieved in setting up a viable legal assistance and legal aid systems for children in contact with the law.

However, this impressive progress has not been without its challenges. There remain substantial gaps and the reforms have not yet achieved a level of coherence needed to create a comprehensive child justice system in Viet Nam. Critically, there is no comprehensive Child Justice Law to provide a solid foundation for a separate and distinct approach to handling cases involving minors. The definition of the age of the child, as a person under 16 years of age, remains a major bottleneck to children's right to access justice. At the same time, the massive changes introduced to the justice system have been hindered by the lack of concomitant comprehensive capacity building and shifting of mindsets, both within the justice sector and amongst the public. Other important pieces are missing, including the absence of social work services in justice system, lack of specialist child justice professionals, limited community-based services for diversion, alternatives to detention and child victim support services. Support from UNICEF through the above-mentioned projects is an important contribution for effective implementation of the newly introduced child justice reforms to bring about substantial improvement in strengthened children's rights and protection of children in contact with the justice system, paving the way for further reforms toward a comprehensive child justice system.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Child Protection (Justice System) Specialist and overall guidance by the Chief of Child Protection Section, the National UN Volunteer Child Justice Officer will provide support to the implementation of the UNICEF planned activities under the EU JULE and Child Justice Project, with the following tasks:

1.Support strengthening institutionalized capacity for key child justice stakeholders

Support advocacy, development, and delivery of child justice training programmes for key law and legal professional training institutes, including the Ha Noi Law University, the Court Academy, the Judicial Academy, the People's Police Academy, and others Support coordination, development, and delivery of e-learning courses and other capacity building initiatives through virtual platforms.

2. Support policy advocacy for strengthening the child justice legal framework, including supporting child justice interventions at sub-national level to inform law and policy reform

Provide technical inputs and support for advocacy for improved child justice legal and policy legal framework, including the development of the Law on Justice for Minors and sub-law Coordinate, support the implementation, and monitor child justice interventions/demonstrations in UNICEF focus provinces, including Da Nang, documenting results and lessons learnt to inform the continued legal reforms and development of services regarding child justice Support review and evaluation of the national roll-out of Family and Juvenile Court, especially to district level, document and dissemination of key findings, success stories, and lessons learnt.

3. Project management

Support for the development of quarterly and annual work plans for UNICEF child justice activities under the EU JULE and Child Justice Project, closely following up with implementing partners for effective and timely implementation of the planned activities

In collaboration with colleagues from UNDP, IOM, and other UN agencies, support coordination of planning and review meetings/workshops between MOJ and other implementing partners

Monitor the implementation and reporting of project activities against M&E targets, conduct field monitoring/programme visits

Contribute to the preparation of quarterly, mid-year, annual progress reports, and final report on the implementation of UNICEF child justice activities

Provide support for the organization of donor visits to UNICEF focus provinces as relevant to child justice and other field visits

Collaborate with Communications team to ensure effective implementation of the Visibility and Communication (V&C) work plan, including communicating on project activities and results for children in social media; provide support to counterparts to ensure compliance with V&C requirements

Perform Provide administrative support for trainings, workshops, preparation of correspondence and other tasks as required by the supervisor and the Child Protection Section Chief.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day)

Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country

Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities

Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.

Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers

Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Requirement

Required Experience

2 years of experience in law, child protection or other relevant programmes at the national and/or international level ; experience with child justice is an asset, as is experience working in the UN or other international development organization - Knowledge of Project Management and data analysis - Good oral and written skills, including drafting, formulation, and reporting - Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development - Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel - Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment - Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines - Sound security awareness - Have affinity with or interest in child rights, volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

Area(s) of expertise:

Legal Affairs

Languages:

English, Level: Fluent, Required Vietnamese, Level: Fluent, Required

Required education level

Bachelor degree or equivalent in Law, child protection

Competencies and values

Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNICEF; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNICEF procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNICEF in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization's interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance, and commitment towards UNICEF's mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

Other Information

Living conditions and remarks

Viet Nam is a middle-income country which has witnessed rapid economic growth with impressive results in poverty reduction over the past twenty-five years. The country has deepened its integration into global and regional institutions such as the WTO, the UN institutions and ASEAN. Its current path of development is guided by the Socio-Economic Development Strategy from 201 1-2020 which was endorsed at the 11th Communist Party Congress in 201 1. A new Socio-Economic Development Plan will be launched in 2021.The incumbent will live in Hanoi which has most of the economic and social amenities at a reasonable cost. Depending on living arrangements, housing can be expensive. Security is good. Hanoi has a humid, tropical climate and monsoons. Summers, between May and September, are very hot with plenty of rain, while winters, from November to March, are cold and relatively dry. Living conditions in Hanoi are good by developing country standards. In line with further improvements in the availability of goods and services, health facilities, and housing, the level of hardship in the duty station has recently been upgraded from C to B. Security is also reasonably good relative to other developing country targe cities. Viet Nam was recently ranked as one of the more secure and stable places to live and do business by outside research groups. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan.

Inclusivity statement

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Reasonable accommodation

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.